Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Joys Of Teething

So the Little Man is well into the journey of expecting his first tooth. We've been a little fussy, a little tired, a little cranky and a little drooly for a few weeks now.

It's started off innocently enough, with a little drool on the chin. Then it built up to a little bit of gnawing on his toys and hands. Then he got downright angry and tried to shove everything in his mouth that he could fit in there, with the climax being 4 straight nights of blood curdling shrieks every 20 minutes like clockwork all through the night.

During the worst of it, my husband and I took turns dashing into the Little Man's room throughout the night trying to soothe him, while also trying to avoid walking into walls and each other in our sleep deprived induced haze.

We managed to come out on the other side alive, thanks to the help of an obscene amount of coffee.

While we have been enjoying the night's going back "somewhat" to a level of normalcy that we can recognize, we are still waiting on this tooth. We have swollen buldging gums, lots of drool, gnawing and occasional fussiness but still no tooth?? I mean where is this thing already? How long does it take? Once one comes in- will it be like this for 19 more? Will I ever sleep a full night again? These are questions that seemingly don't have any answers, at least none that I can find.

We've tried all sorts of "remedies" of the homeopathic nature and against my original plan, over the counter ones as well. While some have been helpful, other's have rendered themselves useless. The only constant that has provided tangible relief has been the comfort of Sophie.

Sophie the Giraffe is an all natural rubber teether that hails from France. She's Phthalates and BPA free and seems to be the only teething toy that my son has shown any interest in. Frozen washcloths and teething rings be damned! Trust me, I've tried everything. Not sure what makes her so much better than the others but she is doing something right because she's been around for 40 years and she works. She's also pretty adorable. So while we wait for the much anticipated arrival of his first tooth, at least we have something that works. If you're in the same teething boat from hell that we are currently floating around in, you should check her out here: Sophie's Boutique.